DFW Airport Contributed More Than 32,000 Tons of Waste to Landfills Every Year. Now it’s Turning Passengers’ Food into Fertilizer to Help Bring Change

DFW’s terminals generate about 32,000 tons of solid waste a year. And the airport says about a quarter of that trash is organic waste, or food, which isn’t really waste. “Food is the single largest item in the American waste stream,” said Lauren Clarke, founder and CEO of Turn, a composting company based in Dallas. “That’s really a shame.”

Lorena Garcia’s Tapas Y Cocina in Terminal A is the first airport restaurant for Clarke’s staff to train in. They are teaching airport kitchen workers to compost. “Nothing is wasted here,” explained Lisa Roark, Turn’s trainer and market manager. She demonstrated composting to Lorena Garcia’s general manager, Dameon Harris.  The goal is to throw as few things in a traditional trash can as possible.